A Comparison between Mid-Eighteenth Century Rural and Urban Chesapeake Elite Consumption Patterns of Wild Fauna

This study proves that the rural elite had a greater percentage of wild fauna in their diet while the urban elite ate a larger variety of wild animals using archaeological evidence. The reasons for the difference between the rural and urban elites' consumption patterns are impossible to know with complete certainty, but there are two likely explanations: market availability and in-group consolidation. Historical documentation supports the findings.